JPH04183581A - Robot for loading and unloading work onto machine tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generally apply a work loading and unloading robot for machine tools in various dimensions, by composing so as to fit a robot machine body easily with the use of a fixing means of a bolt, nut, etc., to the machine base of the machine tool. CONSTITUTION:A robot hand 46 for holding a work is displaced with its movement by the rotating motion between the work handling position where the work to be worked is fed and transferred to the work gripping device 10 of a machine tool, and the retreat position apart from the work handling position, and also the alignment of the work to be worked and the work gripping device 10 of the machine tool is executed with a robot hand 40 being rocked within one plane at the work handling position. Also the work is installed to the gripping device 10 by the linear displacement that the robot hand 46 is approached or separated from the work gripping device 10, or is removed, and yet the barrel 22 of a robot 20 is made fittable easily by using the fixing means of a bolt, screw, etc., for the machine base of machine tool.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is capable of supplying and unloading a workpiece to and from a workpiece gripping device of a machine tool, particularly a lathe, in accordance with instructions from a robot control device. Regarding a workpiece loading/unloading robot that can be directly attached to a machine tool.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, industrial robots have been used to supply and unload workpieces to machine tools.

This type of industrial robot consists of a gantry type robot, a robot formed as a dedicated loader mechanism for a machine tool, a robot arm with multiple degrees of freedom of movement, a wrist,
There are general-purpose robots with multi-jointed structures equipped with hands.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned gantry type robot, the overall robot operating mechanism becomes large, and there is a problem that it is not necessarily suitable for application to a lathe. Further, in a robot consisting of a dedicated loader, the target machine tool is specified and the robot is dedicated to that specific machine tool, so there is a problem that it cannot be used by being mounted on any machine tool for general purpose. In addition, since a robot with an articulated structure has a large number of motion axes, the teaching of movements for supplying and unloading workpieces to a machine tool becomes complicated, and moreover,
There is a problem that it is difficult to install and use, and therefore, it is not easy to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to be able to be used by directly attaching it to the base of a machine tool, especially a lathe, and to teach robot operations for supplying and unloading workpieces. ) The object of the present invention is to provide a robot for loading and unloading workpieces onto and from machine tools, which has a simple and compact structure.

[Means to solve the problem]

That is, the present invention rotates a robot hand for gripping a workpiece between a workpiece handling position where a workpiece is supplied and transported to a workpiece gripping device of a machine tool and a retreat position separated from the workpiece handling position. The robot hand is moved and displaced by the operation, and at the workpiece handling position, the robot hand is swung within one plane to align the workpiece to be processed and the workpiece gripping device of the machine tool, and the robot hand is moved to grip the workpiece. A workpiece is mounted on or removed from the gripping device by a linear displacement that approaches or moves away from the device,
Moreover, the present invention provides a robot for attaching and detaching a workpiece to a machine tool, in which the robot body can be easily attached to the base of the machine tool using fixing means such as bolts and screws.

That is, according to the present invention, in a workpiece loading/unloading robot that loads and unloads a workpiece on a workpiece gripping device of a machine tool according to robot motion control, the robot is configured to install a workpiece in a housing having a mounting seat for mounting the machine tool on the base of the machine tool. a robot body including two rotary drive sources; a first rotary output shaft protruding from the robot body and connected to one of the two rotary drive sources; The first rotary output shaft is connected to one of the rotary output shafts through a gear mechanism, and is connected to a rotary transmission shaft that extends through and extends through the first rotary output shaft.
a second rotary output shaft disposed orthogonally to the rotary output shaft; a robot shoulder holding the second rotary output shaft and coupled to the first rotary output shaft; and an interior of the robot shoulder. a lowered robot arm having a base end connected to the second rotary output shaft and capable of linearly moving a predetermined amount along the axis of the output shaft; A robot for attaching and removing a workpiece to a machine tool, comprising a plurality of workpiece gripping robot hands that can be alternately positioned and displaced to a position facing a workpiece gripping device of the machine tool according to the rotation of the rotational output shaft of No. 2. is provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a robot for attaching and removing a workpiece to a machine tool according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic mechanical diagram illustrating the operating mechanism of the robot.

In FIG. 1, a workpiece loading/unloading robot 2 according to the present invention is shown.
0 is formed as a compact robot that can be attached to a machine tool base (as shown in the diagram), and operates according to a pre-taught control program to operate a workpiece gripping device (chuck) 10 of a machine tool, especially a lathe. This is a robot that can attach workpieces to be processed and remove processed workpieces.

The robot 20 has a robot body 22, and this robot body 22 is equipped with a housing 24 having mounting seats 26 on both sides of the machine tool base, and a rotary drive source is installed in the housing 24. Two electric motors M A and M m are built in in a parallel arrangement with their output shafts parallel to each other. These 2
The electric motors MA and Ml of the stand are detected by servo motors connected to the robot control device (shown in the diagram) via signal lines, and their output shafts protrude outside from one end of the housing 24 and are inside the gear box 28. A predetermined rotational force and amount of rotation are outputted through a gear train built into the unit, which will be described later. Here, one electric motor M3 decelerates the output transmitted through the gear train using a coaxial reducer 30, and outputs the output to the output shaft of the reducer 30 (not shown in FIG. 1). 1 rotational output (B
shaft rotation output). On the other hand, the other electric motor MA is connected to the reduction gear 3 via the gear train in the gear box 28.
The transmission shaft is connected to a transmission shaft passing through the center of the robot shoulder 32, and the tip of the transmission shaft extends into the robot shoulder 32. F
A second rotational output perpendicular to the first rotational output is generated from the output shaft 34a of the coaxial reducer 34 built in the robot shoulder 32.
generates a rotational output (A-axis rotational output).

The upper end of a robot arm 40 is attached to the output shaft 34a, and the robot arm 40 preferably has two output shafts that output the first and second rotational outputs (the latter is the output shaft 34a) horizontally. When provided in the configuration, the output shaft 3
It hangs down from 4a in a pendulum style. At the tip of this robot arm 40, there is a pair of workpiece gripping hands 44.
A robot hand 42 having 46 is detachably attached. The workpiece gripping hands 44 and 46 have, for example, a configuration similar to a commercially available chuck mechanism having a three-jaw structure that closes in a centripetal direction toward the center point and opens in the opposite direction. , is formed as a robot hand that grips and releases a workpiece by opening and closing with the pressure of a working fluid supplied via a robot arm 40.

Further, the rear end of the robot arm 40 is connected to the robot shoulder 3.
It is attached to the tip of the output shaft 34a inside the output shaft 34a so that it can rotate integrally therewith and can be moved and displaced in the axial direction of the output shaft 34a. That is, the base portion 40a formed at the rear end of the robot arm 40 can rotate together with the output shaft 34a of the reducer 34 via a ball spline mechanism, and
A pneumatic cylinder 4 is mounted so as to be movable relative to the output shaft 34a in the axial direction, and forms a direct drive source.
The front end of the output shaft 48a of No. 8 is coupled to the base portion 40a, and the linear guide rod 50a whose one end is coupled to the base portion 40a is guided by a guide 50 provided near the pneumatic cylinder 48. , the robot hand 40 is configured to be linearly displaceable in the front-rear direction along the axis of the output shaft 34a.

Here, referring to FIG. 2, in the two electric motors MA1MIl as a rotational drive source, the pinion 62 at the end of the output shaft of the electric motor MIl meshes with an intermediate gear 63 to transmit rotation, and the intermediate gear 63 reduces speed. The gear reducer 30 is connected to the gear reducer 30, and the output shaft 30a of the reducer 30 generates a reduced first rotational output, that is, a B-axis rotational output. and,
By connecting the robot shoulder 32 to the output shaft 30a of the reducer 30 via a connecting means such as a bolt or screw, the shoulder 32 and the robot arm 40 are integrated into B.
It is configured to rotate around the axis.

On the other hand, the pinion 64 at the output end of the electric motor MA meshes with the intermediate gear 65 and transmits rotation to the above-mentioned transmission shaft 66,
A bevel gear 67 attached to the tip of the transmission shaft 66 is
By meshing with another orthogonally arranged bevel gear 68,
The direction of the rotational output is changed at right angles, and the changed rotation is input to the human power shaft of the reducer 34 via the gear pair 69. Therefore,
The rotational output decelerated by the reducer 34 is
A second rotational output (A-axis rotational output) is output from the output shaft 34a. At this time, a ball spline 70 is cut into the output shaft 34a, and the robot arm 40
Ball spline nut 71 fixed to the rear end 40a of
By meshing, the A-axis rotation output of the output shaft 34a is transmitted to the robot arm 40. at the same time,
The above ball spline 70 and ball spline nut 7
1 engages the robot arm 40 with the pneumatic cylinder 48
This allows the vehicle to move forward and backward in a straight line according to its operation.

Now, referring to FIG. 1 again, when the robot 20 of this embodiment is attached to a machine tool, in particular, a lathe machine stand, by its mounting base 26, the robot arm 40 hanging down in a pendulum shape will The robot hand 42 attached to the tip reaches the front position of the workpiece gripping device 10 of the lathe, that is, the workpiece handling position.

Here, when the robot is in an inactive state in which the workpiece to be processed is not supplied to or unloaded from the workpiece gripping device 10, the robot shoulder 32 is rotated around the B axis to move from the workpiece handling position in front of the workpiece gripping device 10. robot arm 40
And the robot hands 44, 46 can be moved to a retreat position where they are moved away.

On the other hand, when the robot arm 40 and robot hands 44 and 46 shown in FIG. , the workpiece can be supplied and unloaded by operating as follows.
That is, from a state where the robot arm 40 is waiting at a predetermined position of the workpiece gripping device IO, the robot tour arm 40 swings in a vertical plane according to the A-axis rotation of the output shaft 34a, and the center of either the robot hand 44 or 46 is rotated. The position exactly aligned with the center of the workpiece gripping device 10 on a straight line is taught in advance. As a result, for example, if the robot hand 44 is used as a workpiece removal hand and the robot hand 46 is used as a workpiece installation hand, either robot hand can be positioned at the above alignment position as required. In this way, when the air cylinder 48 is operated after positioning, each robot hand 44 or 46 is moved to the first position! !
The workpiece gripping device 1 performs a straight movement shown as the Z axis on l.
0, the workpiece can be delivered and received, and after the workpiece delivery and reception is completed, the workpiece gripping device 10 can be retreated. As described above, if the robot hand 44.46 attached to the tip of the robot arm 40 is specified and set in advance for workpiece loading and workpiece removal, these two robot hands 44.46 can be moved within the same vertical plane. The desired robot hand 4 is rotated around the A axis by
4 or 46 can be accurately indexed and positioned at the workpiece handling position in front of the workpiece gripping device 1o.
Workpieces can be removed and installed in a short time. Moreover, with only 3 movements: rotation around two axes (A-axis, B-axis) and linear movement in one axis (Z-axis),
Supplying the workpiece to the workpiece gripping device 10 of the machine tool,
It is possible to mount, remove, and carry out the workpiece.

Note that if the robot arm 40 has a structure that allows another arm to be superimposed on or removed from an existing arm, the robot hand 4 can be adjusted according to the scale of the machine tool.
4.46 can be positioned at the workpiece handling position in front of the workpiece gripping device. Also, robot hand 44.4
6 is not limited to the three-jaw chuck type hand mentioned above (
Needless to say, other types of robot hands may also be used.

Further, the workpiece loading/unloading robot according to the present invention is taught to perform predetermined workpiece loading/unloading operations with a partner workpiece gripping device at the workpiece handling position by a teaching operation in advance of the plurality of robot hands attached to the tip of the robot arm. However, it goes without saying that by storing the teaching program in the robot control device in the same manner as in ordinary industrial robots, the desired workpiece loading/unloading process can be carried out at any time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, there is a gap between a workpiece handling position where a workpiece to be machined is supplied and transported to a workpiece gripping device of a machine tool and a retreat position separated from the workpiece handling position. At the same time, the robot hand for gripping the workpiece is moved and displaced by rotational motion, and at the workpiece handling position, the robot hand is swung within one plane to align the workpiece to be processed and the workpiece gripping device of the machine tool. Further, the workpiece is mounted on or removed from the workpiece gripping device by linear displacement of the robot hand toward or away from the workpiece gripping device, and fixing means such as bolts and screws to the base of the machine tool are used. A robot for attaching and detaching workpieces to machine tools is provided, which allows the robot body to be easily attached using the . This results in a workpiece loading/unloading robot that can be applied to

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a robot for attaching and removing a workpiece to a machine tool according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic mechanical diagram illustrating the operating mechanism of the robot. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Workpiece gripping device, 20... Workpiece attachment/detachment robot, 22... Robot body, 24-... Housing, 26
-...Mounting pedestal, 30a...Output shaft, 32...Robot shoulder, 34a...Output shaft, 40...Robot arm, 44.46...Robot hand, MA, M,...
...Electric motor, 48...Air cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A workpiece attachment/detachment robot that attaches and removes a workpiece to and from a workpiece gripping device of a machine tool according to robot motion control, within a housing having a mounting seat for mounting on a machine tool base. a robot body including two rotary drive sources; a first rotary output shaft protruding from the robot body and connected to one of the two rotary drive sources; a second rotation shaft connected to one of the rotation output shafts through a gear mechanism and connected to a rotation transmission shaft extending through and extending through the first rotation output shaft, and disposed perpendicularly to the first rotation output shaft; an output shaft; a robot shoulder holding the second rotary output shaft and coupled to the first rotary output shaft; a hanging robot arm having a base end connected to the second output shaft so as to be capable of linear movement by a predetermined amount; A robot for attaching and removing a workpiece to a machine tool, characterized in that it is equipped with a plurality of workpiece grasping robot hands that can be alternately positioned and displaced to positions facing a workpiece grasping device. 2. The two rotational drive sources are composed of servo motors arranged in parallel within the robot body, so that the first and second rotational output shafts are provided in the same horizontal plane, and the robot 2. The shoulder portion incorporates an air-operated cylinder that causes the robot arm coupled to the second rotary output shaft in a pendulum-like manner to move directly with respect to the second rotary output shaft. A robot for loading and unloading workpieces on machine tools. 3. The robot for attaching and detaching a workpiece to a machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of robot hands comprises two robot hands, a hand for removing the workpiece and a hand for attaching the workpiece.